


the joy of

by tournamentofhearts



Category: Homicide: Life on the Street
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-20
Updated: 2012-05-20
Packaged: 2017-11-05 17:04:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/408870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tournamentofhearts/pseuds/tournamentofhearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mike makes the mistake of telling Meldrick that for years when he was a kid, he thought there were left and right socks because that's what Drew and Greg told him. As the youngest brother, he didn't usually get new socks, and by the time the socks got handed down to Mike they were already distorted into the shape of his brothers' feet.</p><p>Set after the movie; no movie spoilers. Originally posted 5/18/12.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the joy of

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thecarlysutra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlysutra/gifts).



> In the same universe as [Take the word of my pulse, loving and ordinary](http://archiveofourown.org/works/254934), [long day, getting longer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/714559), [The best part of waking up](http://archiveofourown.org/works/343040), etc., though they're not prerequisites for reading this.

At one point Mike makes the mistake of telling Meldrick that for years when he was a kid, he thought there were left and right socks because that's what Drew and Greg told him. As the youngest brother, he didn't usually get new socks, and by the time the socks got handed down to Mike they were already distorted into the shape of his brothers' feet.

A week later, Meldrick gets off his shift for the day and lets himself in. He takes off his hat and coat and goes to the bedroom, where he finds Mike putting away a load of clean laundry. Meldrick still won't move in, but it gives him a nice, warm feeling to see their socks nestled together in the same drawer. Half of Meldrick's wardrobe is on the boat now, since when he's not at work he spends most of his time here. When Meldrick was married, he and Barbara got to the point where they were arguing over whether or not they should fold their socks—which mainly goes to show how people in a relationship can reenact conflicts over and over again, macro- to microscopic level, if they don't figure out how to resolve them. Mike keeps the boat pretty tidy but he's stopped pairing up socks before putting them away, after Meldrick's relentless teasing about the left and right socks confession.

Meldrick kisses Mike hello. "Got somethin’ for you, Mikey."

"Oh yeah?" Meldrick grins at Mike's delight and hands him a package. Mike rips off the paper.

"You got me—"

"C’mon, put 'em on!"

Mike sits down on the bed and guffaws, laughing so hard he ends up horizontal. "Only you, Meldrick. I don't _believe_ you."

Meldrick tries to adopt a serious expression. He rubs his thumb across his mouth like it'll keep the smile inside, sits down and grabs Mike's left foot, runs his thumbnail lightly along the bottom. Mike's toes curl.

"Aaah!"

Meldrick lets go of his foot and pats Mike fondly on the knee. He leans down so they're almost nose to nose on the bed, and says as solemnly as he can, "Sock it to me, babe."

([Photo source](http://rehashclothes.com/classifieds/164862/NEW-Toe-Socks-from-Rue-21).)

Yes, Meldrick got Mike striped toe socks with "Left Foot" and "Right Foot" on them. ~Sock love~ is the best love?


End file.
